CHENNAI: Despite the steady rise of COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, over 80 per cent people in 13 districts of the state, who were infected by the virus, have recovered.
Among the districts with high recovery, 89.3 per cent have recovered in Madurai, while 88 per cent have recovered in Chennai. The percentage of people recovered in these two cities are close to that of Delhi, where 90 per cent have recovered so far.
However, in several other districts, such as Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Villupuram, only 55 per cent of patients have recovered, while the active cases are close to 44 per cent.
Active cases in Villupuram saw a spike on August 16 with 756 cases after witnessing a gradual fall on August 6. Nagapattinam, which only had about 100 active cases till mid-July, now has 689.
Cuddalore too witnessed a steep rise in active COVID-19 cases. Cuddalore on August 16 had 2728 active cases, while on July 20, it had close to only 400 active cases.
Notably, Chennai, which saw a decline in cases for a week, has been registering over 1000 cases for the past few days. Chennai’s neighbouring districts Chengalpettu, Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur too have been recording close to 1000 cases without much of a downward trend.
Experts say that while recovery could be high in the urban cities due to early exposure to the virus, a spike in second and third-tier districts was always expected.
“What happened in Chennai during June is now repeating in other places. This must have been anticipated long back and it’s difficult to contain the spread once it has happened,’’ said renowned Virologist Dr Jacob John.
Dr John said that the only way forward now is to ensure there’s adequate healthcare in the districts and people wear masks.
‘Government being extremely cautious’
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said that the government is being extremely cautious with districts recording a high number of cases.
“In districts like Cuddalore, Theni, Nagapattinam and Coimbatore, we have given instructions to complete contact tracing within 72 hours, analyse index cases scrupulously," he said.
Dr Radhakrishnan said that instructions have been given to conduct larger fever camps in shorter periods to bring out more cases of people with SARI and ILI symptoms. “I will be visiting Cuddalore by next week to inspect the situation,’’ he added.